A masterclass will equip Department of Science and Technology (DOST) personnel with necessary foresight knowledge and skills in identifying future scenarios that will help identify future-oriented research and development (R&D) areas and technologies to be incorporated into the DOST Research Council’s R&D agenda.
The “Strategic Foresight and Scenario-Strategy Development Masterclass” is organized by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) in partnership with the Center for Engaged Foresight (CEF). Masterclass participants are identified personnel from the DOST Planning Councils and agencies.
Participants in the Masterclass will participate in several small and large group discussions as well as highly interactive collective intelligence activities.
CEF is a forerunner in futures thinking, futures literacy, strategic innovation, and applied foresight in the Philippines and in Asia. The center specializes in designing and facilitating futures literacy, capacity building, and futures programs in public and private sectors.
Prof. Shermon Cruz, founder and executive director of CEF and serving as the lead trainer, is one of the world's leading futurists and currently Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists (APF). He has served as a futures consultant and adviser at the Asian Development Bank, The Rockefeller Foundation, East-West Center Leadership Academy, and resource person at the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Innovation and Futures Thinking, and others.
The foresight masterclass, which started on October 12, 2021 and ends on December 17, 2021, is conducted as part of the project, “Development and Institutionalization of DOST Foresight Framework and Protocol.”
The first batch of masterclass is currently being conducted with participants from DOST-PCAARRD and National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) while participants from DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), DOST-Special Projects Division (DOST-SPD), and DOST-Planning and Evaluation Service (DOST-PES).
Lastly, Batch 3 will be conducted with participants from DOST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), DOST-Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Development (DOST-OUSECRD), and DOST-Office of the Assistant Secretary for Finance and Strategic Planning (DOST-OASECFSP).
The UNESCO Futures Literacy Framework, the Association of Professional Futurists Professional Foresight Competency Model, the Six Pillars of Futures Thinking, Engaged Foresight Framework, and Hiraya Foresight all inspired this contextually-based action learning program.
Upon completion of the training, the participants are expected to have a fundamental understanding of technology foresight principles, methodologies, and processes that they are expected to utilize in their respective agencies’ daily operations and their long-term planning and future proofing. This will lead to a management transformation that is more agile and responsive to the ever-changing environment which ensures the upholding of DOST’s vision of sustained dynamic leadership in S&T innovation in the country.